Blazing Ache
by DustSilverStar
Summary: Her family had given up, now she was sent to stay with her cousin. It's now up to him and the rest of the Gundam Pilots to break Usagi out of her shell.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** Hi! So, this is my first new story under the name DustSilverStar. So, if you can, do me a favor. When you review, please include one thing that needs help in my stories and one thing that I do well. This will help me a lot more then reviews that only praise my work. Also, I still need an editor for my work! If you would like to help, please email me at stillrain at gmail. com (no spaces). I would also like to know if you have any suggestions for a title.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing!

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**Blazing Ache  
Chapter One****

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**

She stayed for hours in that alleyway as her life slowly slipped from her, and her stabbing pains dulled. She couldn't believe what had happened. The memory replayed over and over in her mind, tormenting her. Her lifeless blue eyes closed, bringing relief to her.

She never saw the shadow, or the person who picked her up, gently.

* * *

"Thank you so much. We just don't know what to do. It's been almost two weeks. She doesn't speak, doesn't eat, and doesn't cry." Ikuko silenced her sobs, as she listened. "Thank you. Get here soon." She hung up the phone, and returned to the room. She closed the heavy door behind her with a small click, and sat in the chair beside the bed. 

She grasped the small pale hand of the blonde within her own, searching her eyes for any sign of emotion. She sighed, tears filling her eyes once more. "Usa…please talk to me. We all miss you." Nothing, no response, not even a blink. Ikuko sobbed. "We don't know what to do anymore. Your cousin's coming to get you in a few hours. Do you remember him? You were so close."

She finally stopped speaking, and sat back in the hard plastic seat. Her heart was breaking. She couldn't bear to see her daughter in such a condition, and yet she couldn't bear to leave her side, either. This was all she did, sit with Usagi. She spent the night at home of course, but the rest of the day, she was here.

Kenji was so angry and sad that he threw himself into his work, sometimes not coming home until three or four in the morning. He never cried after the first couple of days, and holding his emotions in was almost killing him.

Shingo had lost interest in school and sports, so that he could be at the hospital after school. He never left his sister's side, and tried to always remain cheerful. At night his emotions poured out, as he cried endlessly and had nightmares.

She was jolted from her thoughts when the door opened, and a large group of people filtered in. "How is she doing, Mrs.Tsukino?" Ami's soft voice questioned. She glanced at her daughter and frowned.

"No change." Kenji walked over to his wife, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"She leaves today, right?" Rei asked, as she stepped forward to grasp Usagi's other hand.

"Yes. In about an hour. She's going to stay with her cousin." Rei nodded, and leaned down to kiss Usagi's pale cheek.

"We just came to say goodbye. Get better Meatball Head. We all miss you." She stepped back, pushing her black strands from her face, and successfully wiping away the tear that was sliding down her cheek. She turned, and left the room.

Makoto walked up, placing her pink rose earrings in Usagi's hand. "Bye, Usa. We're not what you need right now, but I hope you find what is." She repeated Rei's actions, and stood back up from her stooped position. She smiled sadly at Ikuko, and left the room.

"Goodbye, Usagi. Stay strong," Ami requested, as she kissed her princess's cheek. "Your strength has never failed you before," She whispered, as she squeezed Usagi's hand. She left with a final glance at the blonde.

"Usa, we'll see you later, when you're back to your old self. Try to get better." Minako continued to hold her hand, after she had kissed her cheek. "Don't give up." She left the room, and closed the door with a click.

Kenji walked over to the bed, inspecting his daughter with weary eyes. She had changed so much. She was no longer his precious, happy little girl. He pulled her emotionless figure into a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I love you, and we'll miss you. Please try to get better for us. I couldn't protect you, and I'm sorry. I failed." He kissed her forehead tenderly, and left. His heart couldn't take anymore. Every time he looked at her, wasting away, he was reminded of how much a failure he was.

Shingo sat beside his sister, frowning. Slowly, tears started falling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Usa. If I hadn't made you mad then you wouldn't have left that day a—and this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault!" He looked at her, and seeing no response, sobbed. "I'm a horrible brother! I'm sorry…I'm sorry." He ran from the room, not seeing the single tear that slid down his sister's pale cheek.

It remained silent. Ikuko didn't know what to say. What could she say? Everyone thought that it was their fault. Shingo…Kenji…her friends…even herself. They were all wallowing in their guilt.

The door opened, and a teenager poked his head in. "Aunt Ikuko, is it ok to come in?"

"Come in, Quatre. She's all ready," Ikuko said, as she nodded her head. "Everyone has already said their goodbyes. Her bags are ready, over by the sink."

He picked the two purple suitcases up, and gave her a small smile. "I'll just go put these in the car." He closed the door behind him. Ikuko knew that he was just giving her time to say goodbye.

She turned to Usagi, making sure the blonde could see her face. She raised her hand, to push the bangs out of her face. After, she rested her hand on her daughter's cool cheek.

"Quatre is going to take good care of you, Usagi. We don't know how long you'll be gone, but we hope it won't be long." Ikuko paused, struggling for words. "I love you so much, Usagi. You're my little bunny, and I never wanted anything bad to happen to you. Maybe if I hadn't sheltered you, this wouldn't have happened."

Quatre came back into the room, and stood by the door, waiting. "Bye, Usagi." She kissed her daughter's forehead and cheek, before walking over to Quatre. They hugged quickly. "Good luck, Quatre."

When she left, Quatre looked at his cousin. She looked horrible! She had dropped at least 20 pounds, and looked like a skeleton. The regular clothes they had put on her, that fit her before, were now two sizes too big. She had dark circles underneath her dull cerulean eyes, a testament to all the sleepless nights.

When he stepped closer, she visibly shrank from him. He sat on the edge of her bed, making no motion to get closer. He simply looked at her, with a sad smile. _'She's afraid of me—of men.'_ He thought to himself, as he glanced at her.

"Usa, I promise I won't hurt you. I want to take care of you and help you get better." He spoke to her until she stopped gripping the sheets quite so tightly. He went to take her hand in his, but she pulled hers away the second they touched.

Suddenly, he was assaulted with the overwhelming feeling of panic. They were **her** emotions. He sat for a few minutes, until the feeling faded. Frowning, he grasped her chin with his hand, and forced her to look at him. "I will not hurt you. Please trust me." He looked at her until he saw her eyes soften slightly. Silently, he lowered his hand to grasp hers. "Come on, Usagi. It's time to go back to my house." He pulled her to a standing position.

"We're going to go down to the car now, okay?" He slowly led her from the room, noticing that she never raised her gaze from the floor. They slowly wound their way down the hallways, trying to find their way to the front door. As they walked down the last corridor, Usagi stopped, refusing to go on.

Quatre looked back at her, noticing the fear in her eyes. He turned around, and found the source of her fear. Three men stood at one wall, quietly talking. Every few seconds one would glance at them. Quatre pulled Usagi close to his opposite side, away from the men, wrapping his arm around her.

They quickly walked past the group, and only when they were outside the hospital did she stop cowering. He led her over to the limo, and opened the door. He was surprised when she dove into the car. He got in after her, to find her pressed into a corner.

He settled into the middle, and closed his eyes. It was better to let her get used to the situation then to overwhelm her at the beginning.

He turned his thoughts to the problem at hand. How were they supposed to break through her walls when her closest family and friends couldn't? The only thing she reacted to was men, and that was in fear. Unfortunately, almost all of the maquanacs were men, and so were the five of them.

She had built her walls up so well, even Quatre with his abilities as an empath, couldn't find many holes. She obviously had a lot of experience, and wasn't planning on letting anyone into her bleeding heart.

He was startled from his thoughts by a soft snore. When he looked at the blonde, he smiled. She was curled up, her hair spilling over her shoulders in golden waves. Looking at her then, you couldn't tell what she'd been through. She looked just as sweet and innocent as she had before.

He slid his jacket off, and draped it over her. After leaning back, he closed his eyes.

"I'm going to make it better, Usa. Nothing like that will ever happen to you again. I'll protect you. I promise," He whispered, as he slowly went to sleep.

In the corner, the blonde slowly opened her eyes to gaze at her cousin. He was just as sweet as she remembered, and she knew that he'd do everything in his power to break down her walls. She knew that no matter what, she couldn't let him, or anyone else, in.

They all thought, that underneath all the pain, she was the same smiling girl from before. But she wasn't. She was completely different, now that her rose-colored view of the world had been stripped away.

If she let him in, and he found out what she was really like, he wouldn't love her anymore. No one would.

She glanced down at the rose shaped earrings in her palm, and slipped them in her pocket. Makoto was trying to lend her strength, since those earrings were the only thing that reminded Makoto of her parents. They lent her strength in times of need. She closed her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks.

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**Author Note:** So, how is the story so far? Any suggestions, for the plot, or otherwise? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story!  
I also still need an editor! Constructive criticism would be nice with this story!**

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**Blazing Ache  
Chapter Two  
By: DustSilverStar**

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As they pulled up to the large house, he sighed. He glanced over at the sleeping form of his cousin in confusion. What was he going to do with her? 

"We just have to take this one step at a time. That's all we can do," He stated to himself. He pushed the blonde hair out of his eyes with a shaking hand. Leaning over to her, he shook her shoulder. As soon as she showed signs of waking he sat back.

Her eyes fluttered open and for a second he could almost see the bright cerulean they used to be. A second later and they were back to the dark blue, almost black, color from before.

"We're here," Quatre told her as he opened the door. Going around the car he grabbed the bags that were in the trunk. "Let's get you in the house."

He only had a short time before the guys would be back and he wanted her settled in before then. It wouldn't help matters any if she ran into the other four guys in the hallway.

After a few moments, Usagi climbed out of the car. She refused to come any closer to him, standing at least five feet away from him. He held back a sigh at her treatment.

"Come on." He was trying not to feel defeated but he had a feeling that it was going to be harder the more she kept her walls up.

He walked up to the door and opened it. He led her through the house giving her descriptions of the rooms as they went. He finally came upon the hallway that their rooms were in and stopped in front of hers.

"This is your room. Mine is right across the hall and down two doors." He put her bags by the dresser and waited. She finally walked in but just looked down at the carpet. She wouldn't look around until after he left, he wagered.

"I didn't tell you this on the way over but I have some people staying with me. Heero, Duo, Trowa and Wufei. Duo's room is on the other side of your bathroom, meaning that you share that bathroom with him. Heero is the room to your left. Trowa is across the hallway. Wufei's room is on the right of Trowa's.

Don't worry about the bathroom situation because you can lock the door from your side of the room and also from inside." He noticed through the conversation that her eyes grew more fearful as he spoke. She probably didn't realize that her emotions showed through her eyes that easily.

"I'll come and get you for dinner. I hope you don't mind the guys being here." With that, he turned and left. He couldn't bear looking at her dark eyes anymore or feeling the fear that was pouring off of her. It hurt him to know that she was afraid of him. He closed the door behind him before heading down to his office.

* * *

Usagi waited until she couldn't hear Quatre's footsteps anymore before she lifted her eyes. Taking in the room around her, she twirled around on the ball of her foot. 

Light blue walls, nice fluffy white carpet, and a classic canopy bed with dark blue covers were the first things she noticed about the room. A laptop sat on a very expensive looking desk. The large dresser sitting on the opposite wall of the bed had pictures sitting on it. Pictures of her parents, her friends, and Quatre. Then there was one of Mamoru. She didn't know how it had gotten there or why it was there.

Closing her eyes, she turned from the picture. She couldn't bear to look at it. Her heart was aching, and it felt vaguely like someone shoved a knife into her heart.

Deciding to unpack, she put her bags on the bed. As she put the clothes away she noticed that all the clothes were now too big for her.

Well, it couldn't be helped. She didn't feel like eating anymore. Her appetite had completely left her. Even Makoto's famous cookies couldn't pull her out of her shell.

After about ten minutes that was done as well. Letting out a breath, she sat on the bed.

What was she doing here? They had sent her here so Quatre could break through her "walls". Didn't they know that she didn't want that? If she kept the pain locked inside then no one could ever hurt her again. If she gave that trust away again and someone hurt her she would die. She wouldn't be able to take the pain a second time.

Narrowing her eyes, she frowned. 'Don't they realize that I'm not the same naïve little bunny anymore?' She asked herself. 'I can never be that girl again. That girl was weak! I refuse to leave myself open like that again. If that means I have to cut everyone off then so be it.'

Suddenly feeling tired she crawled up into the bed and got under the covers. Within minutes she was asleep.

* * *

He didn't know what to say. He lowered his head to stare at his hands. "It's worse then I thought." He looked up to make sure he had their attention. He couldn't stop the tears from filling his eyes. 

"She's afraid of me. She's afraid of men. I don't know what to do," Quatre admitted to them.

"What exactly happened to this girl?" Trowa asked. Quatre glanced at him before quickly looking away.

"I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you but I guess you all need to know. Well… uhh… Usagi was …" At the hesitation in his voice they all knew it must have been bad.

"Usagi was raped and left for dead," He ground out. He placed a hand over his face to cover his tears.

Duo couldn't help the surprised look that came over his face. All he could think was 'Quatre's cousin was raped???' His mouth dropped open and he gaped at the blonde man.

Trowa closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He didn't know how they were going to deal with it. He didn't understand how they could bring around a girl who was afraid of men when they were five men!

Wufei felt the anger rush through his veins at Quatre's words. For that girl to be raped and then left for dead by a man made him ashamed of his sex. There was no telling what that girl was going through. Standing, he walked away. He slammed the door behind him. He had to go work his anger out before he exploded at someone.

Heero stood up and walked from the room. All he knew was that they were going to have to keep a close eye on this girl so that she didn't do something stupid.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe I'm updating this again after so long. I know my writing skills have probably decreased a little, but practice makes perfect.

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It was almost four hours later when Quatre finally ventured up to her room. He knocked, and there was no answer. "Usagi, are you ready for supper?"

Still, there was no answer. Panic suddenly assaulted him. What if she had done something stupid?

He turned the knob and pushed the door open. Slowly walking in, he looked around. "Usagi?" Then he noticed that she was curled up on the bed underneath the covers. She was so small that he almost didn't notice her.

He walked up to the bed and sat beside her. Reaching over, he pushed her golden hair from her face "Usagi, it's time for supper." He shook her a little by her shoulders, but still she didn't move.

"It's nice to know you still sleep like a rock sometimes." He shook her again, rewarded this time with her eyes slowly opening, and looking up at him. "Are you hungry? Supper is ready."

She looked at him, and he could see the wheels turning in her head. She didn't want to be rude and not come to eat, but she also didn't want to see the other four guys that she knew were staying in the house. Finally, she gave a slight nod.

Smiling, he turned and walked out the door. He walked slowly, making sure that she stayed close behind him. "The other guys that stay here will also be there, Usa. But don't worry, they won't hurt you."

He felt the slight panic emanating from her, and sighed. There was nothing he could do to make this easier on her, they would just have to move forward, and hope it got easier on the way.

Finally, after minutes of silence, they walked into the dining room. He pulled out a chair that was across from Duo, and motioned for her to sit.

"That's Duo sitting across from you, and Wufei to his right. Trowa and then Heero are on the other side of Wufei." Her eyes never looked up, staying focused on the plate in front of her. Quatre took the seat beside her, smiling at the other guys. "Go on and eat everyone."

The mood around the table was awkward as they ate. Quatre tried to keep a conversation going, but no one could ignore the silent girl who ate slowly and never looked up from her plate. They could all tell she was uncomfortable and tense from the way she held herself, and that she didn't want to be there.

Finally, they were done. Quatre walked Usagi back to her room, since she declined doing anything with them.

Everyone else left, and returned to what they were doing beforehand. Duo returned to his room, aware of the fact that Usagi was in her room, not making any noise. It didn't even sound like she was moving.

He walked into the bathroom before sitting on the floor, his back to the door that went into her room.

"Usagi, This is Duo. I know you probably don't want to talk. But I just wanted to tell you that we won't hurt you, and I'm sorry that this happened to you." He waited for anything to tell him that she was listening, and heard a small rustle as he assumed she got out of bed. Then he heard a small plop on the floor on the other side of the door. He smiled, before continuing on talking.

* * *

"Usagi, This is Duo. I know you probably don't want to talk. But I just wanted to tell you that we won't hurt you, and I'm sorry this happened to you."

She didn't really know what it was that made her go over to the door and sit down. Maybe it was the way his voice wavered when he said he was sorry, or maybe it was the fact that she was lonely. Regardless, she sat beside the door and listened.

"Maybe it would be better if I introduced myself and you got to know me a little better. My name is Duo Maxwell, and I was an orphan on the Colony L2. When I was caught out in the streets, I was given to a church where Father Maxwell and Sister Helen took me in…," Duo spent nearly an hour telling her things about himself, everything he could think of, even down to his favorite ice cream.

"Well Usagi, I think that's enough for now. I hope you get better soon." He waited until he heard her get up and shuffle away before getting up himself.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since Duo had started talking to Usagi through the bathroom door. Each night he sat beside the door at promptly 9 o'clock. He always greeted Usagi and then waited for the small plop on the other side of the door that signaled she was there and listening.

He had told Usagi everything about himself, even down to him being a Gundam pilot. He hadn't planned on telling her about that but in a brief moment of thought it had occurred to him that maybe it would make her feel more safe.

With everyone else she was still the same silent Usagi. She never spoke a word and still refused to look at anyone. But occasionally she would look at him, and he would wink at her, earning a small smile that was almost not noticeable. Little things were changing, but he was the only one that seemed to notice. When they ate at the dining room table, which was normally only supper now, as everyone had went back to their original schedule, she would get up soon after he did and he would wait for her in the hallway and take her to her room.

She had also recently started to listen to music in her room, playing it very softly. Her weight had improved and her color was returning. She wasn't that dreadful pale color she was when she came to live there. The biggest change was that the day before she had actually came out of her room on her own and came to find him. He didn't know if she was just lonely, or tired of being in her room all the time. He didn't really care, he was just happy they were making progress.

She had found him in the library where he was reading a book, a rarity for him. She sat on the other side of the couch and curled up with a blanket. He didn't question her on why she was there, he simply started reading out loud to her.

As he reflected on the past week, he smiled. He felt that somehow, even if she didn't say anything, that she understood what all he had been through. He just hoped that there was going to be a day when she felt comfortable enough and trusted him enough when she could tell him her own stories.

He fired off another round into the target, where he had been for the past half hour. He had found that this was one of the few ways that he could clear his mind and think. He shot off two more rounds, before stopping. He put his gun away, and headed back into the house. His gun was deposited safely into his nightstand beside his bed.

His feet led him to Usagi's door before he knew what had happened. He had a surprise for her but he wasn't planning on showing it to her this early. Somehow, he got the feeling that it would be a good time.

He knocked, waiting for any answering sound. None came. "Usagi? Are you in there? I was wondering if maybe you uhh… would like to go somewhere outside with me? It's something special, and I think you will like it."

There was an answering movement on the other side of the door and finally the door opened. Usagi stood there, her blank gaze on her face.

"If you want to, grab your shoes. I will wait out here," He said, grinning. She nodded, and closed the door back. He could hear her walking around in her room, and within a few moments, the door opened and she was standing by his side.

"Come on. It will be great!" He led her through the house, and out the back door. "It will be a little bit of a walk." As she walked beside him, they walked into the woods around the back of the house. He kept pointing things out to her, such as pretty flowers or interesting things he saw as they walked.

Finally, he could hear the faint trickle of water and knew that they were getting close. "We're almost there." He pushed aside some hanging branches and led her into the clearing.

In front of them was a small pool of water at the bottom of a small waterfall. The water cascaded into the water below in a rainbow of color, due to the sunlight hitting it through the trees.

He glanced over at her and noticing the lightening of her eyes, he smiled.

"It's beautiful, huh?" He was rewarded with a nod and a small smile.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quatre was worried. He couldn't find Usagi anywhere. She wasn't in her room, and she never left her room. Her door was unlocked and her shoes were gone from the foot of the bed where she normally left them. He hurried through the house, checking every room, and he still couldn't find her.

He found Heero and Trowa in the library. "Guys, do you all know where Usagi is? I can't find her anywhere!" Against his better judgement, he was starting to panic. Why would she just wander off like that?

"Did you check Duo's room?" Heero asked, not looking up from the papers he was reading.

"Duo's room? Why would she be in there?" He questioned. "I didn't look there, let me go check." Quatre hurried out of the room, not bothering to take another look at the people inside.

Heero smirked. He knew Usagi was with Duo. He had been watching from an upstairs window as they walked into the woods. However, if Duo didn't want them to know where they were going, he wasn't going to say anything. There had to be a good reason why he took her out there and didn't tell anyone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

45 minutes later somehow it happened to be that Duo had stripped down to his pants and was wading around in the almost shoulder high water. The pool of water, although it was small, was deep in the middle and was just beneath his shoulder. Usagi was sitting on a rock on the outskirts of the pool, dipping her feet in the warm water.

She was surprisingly at ease sitting there. She was watching Duo splash around like a little kid. She was beginning to trust Duo, there wasn't really any reason why she shouldn't, since he had told her so much about himself.

'_Seeing him without his shirt on isn't so bad either_,' Her traitorous mind whispered to her.

For some reason, she was still holding back. She couldn't find it within herself to tell Duo what happened to her. She recognized that it was more fear then anything else.

'_I'm damaged. He wouldn't care so much if he knew_.' The saddening thought crept it's way into her head.

She was jerked from her thoughts a few moments later as a small splash of the warm water got her right in the face. Pushing her hair our of her face, she glared at Duo. He stood a few feet in front of her, looking at the sky with an innocent expression on his face.

Without any hesitation, she swept her arm over the water, sending a large wave of it at him. For the next twenty minutes they were involved in a water war. She was having so much fun that she didn't even realize it when she laughed.

Duo stopped, and stared. For a few minutes he was getting to see the Usagi from before all of this had happened. Her eyes were twinkling, her skin flushed from the exertion. Another large wave splashed him and he held up his hands in front of him.

"Ok, ok! You win! I give up!" He laughed, as he hid behind his hands. "No more!" He peeked around his hands to see Usagi standing knee deep in the water, raising a skeptical eyebrow at him as if she didn't trust his words.

With a sigh, he started to wring out his large braid. "Come on. We've been here a while. I'm sure Quatre has found us out by now and is worried."

They gathered their things together and started back to the house. The whole time Usagi's shoes made a squish sound from all the water and he had to fight back another wave of laughter.

When they were within about ten feet of the house, Usagi suddenly stopped. She gave him a small smile, "Thanks Duo." With that, she turned and walked into the house.

Duo didn't realize for a couple of minutes that he was standing there with his mouth wide open and a dumbfounded expression on his face.

'_She talked to me…. _' Was his only thought.


End file.
